Many young people, my numerous offspring among them, laud the work of Greta Thunberg as she travels around the world telling adults that it is our fault polar bears have to swim further to hunt and that orca’s are having to develop whole new strategies to find and capture food. But if I say “no” to them getting the latest iPhone on the grounds that their existing one works fine they look at me as if I’ve grown another head! I guess that it is much easier to follow a cause rather than making a sacrifice to actually support it; proving perhaps that when it comes to the crunch most people are eco-worriers not eco-warriors.
Unfortunately, successive generations of humanity have pillaged and processed the earth’s resources without thinking about the consequences for the planet. Knowledge of our impact on our planet has been around a long time, the ancient Greeks debated the effect on rainfall that draining a swamp or cutting down a forest might have. In 1896, that Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927) became the first person to imagine that humanity could change the climate on a global scale, when he published calculations in The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science showing that adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere could warm the planet. Even with such exposé people continue to act without a care for our fragile ecosystem in pursuit of wealth, power, or just for survival.
I have faith that the average person (if there is such a thing) cares about the state in which we leave our planet for the next generation and is prepared to take responsibility, but they must be given the right advice by the government and shown the correct example by owners of businesses, senior civil servants, and public sector supremos.
Early in my career I was given some advice by a wise old person who said that when it came to the law, or to rules you could choose to act within the letter of the law, or within the spirit. I see this as the difference between ticking the right boxes and patting ourselves on the back, or fully embracing it and taking positive action. Companies have started looking at ways to ‘ethically’ and legally dispose of unwanted IT equipment under the ITAD (IT Asset Disposal) banner; well why not go one better and engage with a company that aims to refurbish or repurpose unwanted IT, or harvests it for components and materials? When additional IT equipment is required, why not look at what refurbished equipment is available in the market rather than buy new? This will not only save money but also help reduce your companies impact on the environment.
At Sumo Technologies we have been banging on about this for years, indeed we have been operating under the principle of reuse, recycle, recover ever since we first started selling and refurbishing IT equipment in 2000. Last year we launched our ITAD service and have processed hundreds of tablets, PCs, and handhelds. This month see’s the launch of our online store, where you will be able to purchase refurbished equipment or new unused components at a fraction of the list price, with volume purchases benefitting from additional discounts. We are so confident in our ability to refurbish equipment that every device comes with a 6-month warranty.
Why not take a look? https://www.sumotech.com/shop